[SuperAkuma]

I am thinking about picking up a telephoto lens for a wedding for my sister in law. I never did a wedding before but I plan to get into the business. Next week I will do a small wedding event for my sister in law. It will be just family only so 7 people total. Bride/groom, bride's parents, my wife, me and a friend. They are going to Lake Tahoe to get married.

Currently I have the K20D with a large selection of lens. I noticed that my high end lens are all wide-angle to normal. I don't have any high end telephoto lens after 50mm. I have two telephoto lens a cheapo Sigma 28-200mm and the Tamron 70-300mm lens.

The 3 lens that I am looking are
Pentax 50-135mm
Sigma 50-150mm
Sigma 70-200mm

Currently I plan to buy the 50-135mm or the 50-150mm. I really like the range of the 70-200mm but the problem with it is that it is a lot bigger and heavier than the other two. I don't know if I would be comfortable to work with that lens without a tripod.

For those who own the Sigma 70-200mm can you tell me if that lens is usable without a tripod for shooting an event like a wedding?

I am not going to debate on which lens has the best IQ or the best AF because I believe that they are all very good. I don't think any one of those lens are superior to the other in terms of IQ and AF. One may be a little bit better but the weight issue is a bigger concern to me.

Please don't try to talk me out of not doing the wedding. It is already set in stone. I see this as a family get together with a wedding like them. Also they are doing another wedding a bigger one with more guess later this year and they will hire a professional photographer on that one. It does not make sense to pay a photographer $1000+ on this event when they are only spending $300 this time.

[res3567]

I am thinking about picking up a telephoto lens for a wedding for my sister in law. I never did a wedding before but I plan to get into the business. Next week I will do a small wedding event for my sister in law. It will be just family only so 7 people total. Bride/groom, bride's parents, my wife, me and a friend. They are going to Lake Tahoe to get married.

Currently I have the K20D with a large selection of lens. I noticed that my high end lens are all wide-angle to normal. I don't have any high end telephoto lens after 50mm. I have two telephoto lens a cheapo Sigma 28-200mm and the Tamron 70-300mm lens.

The 3 lens that I am looking are
Pentax 50-135mm
Sigma 50-150mm
Sigma 70-200mm

Currently I plan to buy the 50-135mm or the 50-150mm. I really like the range of the 70-200mm but the problem with it is that it is a lot bigger and heavier than the other two. I don't know if I would be comfortable to work with that lens without a tripod.

For those who own the Sigma 70-200mm can you tell me if that lens is usable without a tripod for shooting an event like a wedding?

I am not going to debate on which lens has the best IQ or the best AF because I believe that they are all very good. I don't think any one of those lens are superior to the other in terms of IQ and AF. One may be a little bit better but the weight issue is a bigger concern to me.

Please don't try to talk me out of not doing the wedding. It is already set in stone. I see this as a family get together with a wedding like them. Also they are doing another wedding a bigger one with more guess later this year and they will hire a professional photographer on that one. It does not make sense to pay a photographer $1000+ on this event when they are only spending $300 this time.

As for lenses go, they are all good.

Did you look at the "First Wedding" thread in the Camres and Accessories forum?

[res3567]

Check it.


https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/camera-studio-accessories/58767-first-wedding.html

You don't say what the shooting conditions are. You're biggest enemies are going to be low light (inside) or bright sunlight (outside obviously). If those aren't a problem, your current lenses shouldn't be a problem.

[SuperAkuma]

Yes I've read the "first wedding" post that you posted. That was a great post with lots of info on how to shoot a wedding and great pointers for first timer.

I am not too concerned about shooting the wedding. I am more concerned about the weight of the lens itself. I've touched the Pentax 50-135 but I've never touched or seen the Sigma 70-200mm in person. I am just wondering if something like that would be too big for someone to carry around for a typical wedding.

Damn Brit,
The location of this event will be in Lake Tahoe. It will be inside a small Wedding chappel. The light isn't that great inside. But I will also do some outside poses as well and the weather in Tahoe is really great. You maybe right, I may not "Need" a new lense, but this is a great excuse to get one.


Do anyone have a sample image of the Sigma 70-200mm mounted on the K10D/20D?

[res3567]

Yes I've read the "first wedding" post that you posted. That was a great post with lots of info on how to shoot a wedding and great pointers for first timer.

I am not too concerned about shooting the wedding. I am more concerned about the weight of the lens itself. I've touched the Pentax 50-135 but I've never touched or seen the Sigma 70-200mm in person. I am just wondering if something like that would be too big for someone to carry around for a typical wedding.

Damn Brit,
The location of this event will be in Lake Tahoe. It will be inside a small Wedding chappel. The light isn't that great inside. But I will also do some outside poses as well and the weather in Tahoe is really great. You maybe right, I may not "Need" a new lense, but this is a great excuse to get one.


Do anyone have a sample image of the Sigma 70-200mm mounted on the K10D/20D?

The Pentax 50-135 is lighter than Sigma.

I have seen an older Sigma on the softball field and it was huge.

The guy was having trouble holding it.

The newer one may be lighter but I don't think by much; I have not seen one.

IMO you can't go wrong with the Pentax for a wedding; that is what I would use.

I saw one in person at a Wolf Camera and it is indeed small for an f/2.8 zoom.

[Ash]

The 50-135 is not just lighter than the 70-200s, it's a LOT lighter.
Definitely one to consider, and faster than the 50-500, which I wonder whether you'd need to use above 200mm anyway for a wedding.

Be sure to get up close, which I think would be better than standing further back with a longer lens, particularly in low light settings without a flash.

[Venturi]

All of the 70-200/2.8 lenses are monsters compared to the 50-135 and as far as I know they all have tripod collars (for good reason).

The last wedding I shot was an 8hr shoot. My partner was running his 5D and 70-200, and he had it on the monopod the entire time. I ran with the K20D w/ grip and 50-135 handheld. (I also had a K10D w/ Tam17-50 and PZ-1 w/ FA50/1.4 but I digress...) No way I would have lasted that long handholding a 70-200.

[SuperAkuma]

The 50-135 is not just lighter than the 70-200s, it's a LOT lighter.
Definitely one to consider, and faster than the 50-500, which I wonder whether you'd need to use above 200mm anyway for a wedding.

Be sure to get up close, which I think would be better than standing further back with a longer lens, particularly in low light settings without a flash.

Wasn't really looking at the 50-500mm, I know for sure I would need a tripod for that one. But I would love to have that lens for other outdoor events.

I finally did it, I bought the 50-135mm from amazon just a few minutes ago. It should be here on Tuesday, gotta love the $3.99 next day shipping. I just hope I get a good copy! I also picked up a reflector and a 16GB card as well but that will be here on Wednesday.

My wife is going to kill me. I hope she won't be as upset after I show her the pictures of the wedding.
If my wife don't kill me, be on the look out at the market place. I will be selling my other lens to make up for the cost of this lens.

[res3567]

Wasn't really looking at the 50-500mm, I know for sure I would need a tripod for that one. But I would love to have that lens for other outdoor events.

I finally did it, I bought the 50-135mm from amazon just a few minutes ago. It should be here on Tuesday, gotta love the $3.99 next day shipping. I just hope I get a good copy! I also picked up a reflector and a 16GB card as well but that will be here on Wednesday.

My wife is going to kill me. I hope she won't be as upset after I show her the pictures of the wedding.
If my wife don't kill me, be on the look out at the market place. I will be selling my other lens to make up for the cost of this lens.

She loves you man!

[SuperAkuma]

UPS man just dropped off the package for me a few minutes ago. I tested out the lens and so far it seems good. It is nice and quite. This is my first SDM lens.

[Wheatfield]

I'm a little late in, it looks like you've made a lens decision, and I'm sure it will do fine for you in many applications. For myself, the long telephoto lens is not a good choice for weddings. Other than portraiture, I tend to stay with lenses right around the standard focal length, and I don't use zooms at all.
With digital, my most used wedding lens is the 31/1.8, with the 50-58mm being used for portraiture and the 20-21 being used for wide angle stuff.
I will put the 85/1.4 on a body during the ceemony for available light work shooting up the aisle towards the alter, and in a very large church I might go to something longer still (in which case I break out the very rarely used 80-200/2.8).
I find zooms tend to get in my way,maing the viewfinders are too dim making manual focus difficult, and the AF frequently has hunting issues, making it useless.

[maxwell1295]

I'm beginning t think that a wedding could be easily shot with a DA*16-50 and 70/77 Limited. Wheatfield would probably agree with a 31/77 combo. Longer telephoto zooms are great for 2nd shooters capturing some candid action, but the closer FLs work better when you're in the middle of the action.

[kenyee]

I'm beginning t think that a wedding could be easily shot with a DA*16-50 and 70/77 Limited

If you're the primary, this is very true.
If you're the secondary, the 70-200 or 50-135 is useful for closeup shots or photojournalistic style from further away.

As for seeing how big the 70-200 is, just check any other mount at the local camera store. They're always available. I tried a friend's on a Nikon D80 and it didn't seem that big or heavy to me. I'd rather use the 50-135 or 50-150 all day though

[HermanLee]

I have FA*80-200/2.8 and just recently bought DA*50-135.

The reason for buying 50-135 is because of the weight issue.
I don't know how big you are or how steady your hand holding technique, but I'm not that big and need a lot of practice to hold my mighty FA*80-200.

The FA*80-200 is a little bit heavier than Tamron/Sigma counterpart.
After shooting with 80-200, the 50-135 feels so light in comparison.
It really depends how far away do you want to shoot the wedding for.

If I were the main photographer, I'll choose 50-135 because of the useful 50-79mm focal length inside the house.
I have DA*16-50 too but it's too wide for tight portrait in a big house/church.

But if you're using it to shoot other event that needs distance/maybe to the zoo/safari park, the FA* 80-200 is the better choice since it also works very well with Tamron 1.4x TC.
I haven't found any TC that works well with DA*16-50 nor 50-135.